The part-time staff keep the equipment going between 11.30am and 3.30pm in a productivity measure brokered this month between the mine operators and union representatives.

“They are not all nannies by any means, but the name has stuck," Griffin industrial relations general manager Chris Godfrey said.

“Getting them trained up takes some time although we will start to see the gains."

The measure is indicative of a trend in the resources sector that means mine owners must not only maximise productivity but also offer flexible arrangements to attract workers to the booming area.

The deal is less controversial than those operations pushing for foreign labour arrangements. Labor senator
Doug Cameron
told ABC Radio yesterday a Senate inquiry into the use of foreign workers that he is chairing would seek the input of mining magnates
Gina Rinehart
,
Clive Palmer
and
Andrew Forrest
.

Mr Cameron has been particularly critical of the federal government’s decision to allow up to 1700 foreign workers to help build Mrs Rinehart’s Roy Hill iron ore mine in the Pilbara.

The need for flexibility is underlined as women become a prime recruiting opportunity for mining companies.

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Research conducted by accountancy group PwC found there were about 40,000 women working in the resources sector, accounting for just 18 per cent of mining roles. This contrasts with women filling 45 per cent of roles in the overall Australian workforce.

“Central to reducing the sector’s skills shortage is the creation of a culture and conditions that will make female workers want to join and stay with resources companies," the report said.

“To attract and retain talented women, the industry will need to provide facilities such as childcare and early education."

The PwC report recommends the sector target women of high-school age for the resources industry because this is when subject selections and career decisions begin to be formed.

The Collie arrangement is a compromise: the Lanco Infratech-owned Griffin wanted workers on 12½-hour shifts to allow for hand-overs that would keep the equipment running 24 hours a day.

As there are no nanny crews in the middle of the night, the equipment lies idle for a short period.

“This is good for locals," CFMEU West Australian secretary
Gary Wood
said. “It provides an employment opportunity for those [making the transition] to retirement and those who want to pick the kids up from school."

West Australian Seniors Minister
Robyn McSweeney
said the state government welcomed the flexible arrangements at Collie.

“New measures companies are introducing to accommodate our more senior members of the community who want to stay in the workforce are welcome," Ms McSweeney said.

“Senior West Australians offer skills, wisdom and experience which can be very valuable to an organisation."

Under the Collie arrangements, the nanny crew would still qualify for WA’s Seniors Card because the four hours/four days a week schedule meets the requirements. (Seniors are allowed to work up to 25 hours a week, averaged over 12 months, to qualify for the card.)

In Queensland, a similar arrangement to the Collie deal exists at Xstrata Copper’s Ernest Henry mine near Cloncurry in the state’s north-west. It runs a school-hour-friendly shift, staffed by the “mummy crew" driving 200-tonne dump trucks.

“There’s actually a male on it now, which is a bit embarrassing," one miner said. “Since the trucks are auto these days, you don’t need big, burly guys to drive them and the women actually take better care of them."

At Boddington, south-east of Perth, goldminer
Newmont
Asia Pacific has a trained female outfit working the 9am to 2pm shift covering breaks for the full-time equipment operators.

It’s advertised as a safety measure, but new
Rio Tinto
policies might also prove attractive in hiring and retaining staff.

After a safety review, the mining giant has in some instances stopped employees from flying before 6am on the day they start their 12-hour rosters. “Where necessary, that involves a grey-zone shift arrangement because it’s a bit later that they get up there [from Perth]," a Rio spokesman said.

The miner is also trialling an arrangement under which employees are given a shorter shift just before flying out after completing their roster.

The idea is that they use the extra time to catch up on sleep.

“What we’ve found is it means that when they get home, they start on their break from day one instead of day two or three after they’ve caught up," the spokesman said.

“It’s still a trial, but anecdotally it’s shown to be a huge winner. It helps the body adjust."

At Collie, 16 workers fill the nanny shift, as long as the weather is fine. Their casual status means they come to work, and are paid, only when weather conditions permit coal extraction.

Under the threat of strike action, a new pay deal was brokered this month that has handed about 300 workers an extra 22.5 per cent over four years, with the entry-level positions paying $110,000 a year plus superannuation.

Griffin’s Mr Godfrey said he hadn’t given up on pursuing a 12½-hour shift to make the coalmine into a truly 24-hour operation.